AI News

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced Dec. 11 that, effective immediately, it will no longer require appraisers to include Fannie Mae Form 1004MC in VA appraisal reports. However, appraisers still are responsible for analyzing and accurately reporting market conditions.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 25 approved HR 6347 and HR 6348, legislation the Appraisal Institute says will put taxpayers at significant risk by virtually eliminating appraisal requirements for the Small Business Administration’s two largest loan programs. AI had submitted a letter urging the House to vote against the legislation.

Fifty-nine percent of economists responding to a Wall Street Journal survey said they believe the U.S. economy will stop expanding in 2020, HousingWire reported Sept. 18. Sixty-two percent of respondents said the most likely cause of the next downturn would be an overheated economy that leads to increased Fed tightening.

Nearly two-thirds of real estate investors said they are planning to add more senior housing to their portfolios, and interest in independent living properties is especially high, according to commercial real estate company CBRE, MBA NewsLink reported Sept. 17. The senior housing vacancy rate is hovering around 9 percent.

Property values and development near airports could be affected by language in legislation that extends authorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, The Real Estate Roundtable reported April 27. The language, known as One Engine Inoperative, modifies take-off and landing paths in a way that restricts building heights and development around airports.

Legislation for comprehensive housing reform is unlikely to pass this year, senators from both parties told attendees at the Mortgage Bankers Association National Advocacy Conference April 24 in Washington. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said there is bi-partisan cooperation and legislators are working on a solution.

Mick Mulvaney, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, asked Congress to enact major reforms to reduce the agency's independence, HousingWire reported April 2. Mulvaney specifically targeted bureau funding, which he wants to fold into the congressional appropriations process; funding currently comes from the Federal Reserve.

Investor interest in self-storage properties is high, with sale prices rising and cap rates averaging 6.3 percent during the fourth quarter, down from 6.5 percent the previous year, according to analytics firm RCA, National Real Estate Investor reported April 3.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced March 28 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on June 3 will start issuing the long-awaited single mortgage-back security, called the uniform mortgage-backed security. The UMBS replaces TBA-eligible mortgage-backed securities; more than 90 percent of agency MBS trading occurs in the TBA market.

Barclays will pay the U.S. government $2 billion to settle charges it misled investors about the quality of mortgages in $31 billion in residential mortgage-backed securities that it sold in the lead up to the housing crisis, HousingWire reported March 29.